1. Field of the Invenion
The present invention relates to a delivery apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to a delivery apparatus in which a delivery passage per se must be moved to effect delivery of an article to be delivered.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the process for the fabrication of semiconductor devices, a semiconductor wafer is automatically delivered to points in the production line by a delivery apparatus such as a belt conveyor. When the semiconductor wafer is coated with a photoresist or an etching treatment is carried out after light exposure, a resist solution or etching solution is coated on the wafer while spinning the wafer at a high speed, and a spinner is used for this operation. After the wafer is delivered to this spinner, the rotary chuck portion of the spinner is covered with a cylindrical cover to prevent scattering of the coating solution during the spinning operation. Accordingly, the belt conveyor must be moved away from the spininer to allow the cylindrical cover to move into a protective position. In the conventional apparatus for delivering a semiconductor wafer, a loader and an unloader are provided as two separate mechanisms for placing wafer on and removing it from the spinner. These loading and unloading mechanisms must be moved to and fro between a position above the rotary chuck and the pre-loading and unloaded positions, respectively. Accordingly, the overall length of the system must be increased, necessitating the provision of a large space for installation of the apparatus. The above will be described in more detail later, with reference to the attached drawings.